I use a retina MacBook Pro at University on a daily basis. For the last 3 months, I've been suffering from the relatively well documented issue where the screen connected via HDMI may flicker off an on.

What I've noticied this morning is that since Wednesday, this damage has occurred around the HDMI port. Notice, the ruckeling on top and the black chips around the port. Since it's stayed on a clear desk for almost all of that time, with one trip out in laptop backpack where it didn't come out, I just can't think the damage was done physically as there was no opportunity when that side of the laptop would come into contact with anything hard. Last night I was rendering a very large video which got my computer very hot for about 20 minutes in iMovie. Is it possible that the heat generated from the CPU could have caused this ruckeling or that anything else caused the damage?

Someone physically moved the HDMI connector downwards, or you did which I doubt or someone else (On purpose) while you were not there, you can clearly see the bulge on top, the connecter has been forcely moved down when it was inside the socket, that's why it's also damaged under the socket.

Someone physically moved the HDMI connector downwards, or you did which I doubt or someone else (On purpose) while you were not there, you can clearly see the bulge on top, the connecter has been forcely moved down when it was inside the socket, that's why it's also damaged under the socket.

Someone physically moved the HDMI connector downwards, or you did which I doubt or someone else (On purpose) while you were not there, you can clearly see the bulge on top, the connecter has been forcely moved down when it was inside the socket, that's why it's also damaged under the socket.

Hi - Good idea, but the only starts at the edge of the HDMI socket and maxes out about 2cm from the HDMI socket. Also, the cable has a round thick bit behind the plug, so when I just tried that the cable doesn't actually go down more than a fraction of a mm, because the screen is on a desk so it's only plugged in via HDMI on the desk. So the cable can't actually go enough to cause damage.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by cookiesnfooty

That's what I was thinking

Also, how could this have caused the black damage beneath? Isn't it solid aluminium? Why would there be black on the surface?

I do appreciate it could have been malicious (or even me, without knowing), but as it's kept in a locked room when I'm not there, it happeneded within the last 2 days so I know I didn't leave it out somewhere and that I don't use it off the desk with the cable plugged in, I'm really thinking about if any hardware could have gone wrong. But it seems not from posts so far!

I do appreciate it could have been malicious (or even me, without knowing), but as it's kept in a locked room when I'm not there, it happeneded within the last 2 days so I know I didn't leave it out somewhere and that I don't use it off the desk with the cable plugged in, I'm really thinking about if any hardware could have gone wrong. But it seems not from posts so far!

I think you need to take the back plate off and take a look inside at the HDMI plug. This should tell you if the plug itself is scorched and if the blackening is extensive and related to a short in the plug or if it is related to physical damage. It is hard to image heat alone doing the physical damage to the top surface of the laptop, as aluminum is such a good heat conductor. In other words, heating the aluminum should not have caused it to bend like this. More likely either some internal component has "expanded" from heat and thus bent the upper surface or the HDMI plug was forcefully moved bending the upper surface.

I think you need to take the back plate off and take a look inside at the HDMI plug. This should tell you if the plug itself is scorched and if the blackening is extensive and related to a short in the plug or if it is related to physical damage. It is hard to image heat alone doing the physical damage to the top surface of the laptop, as aluminum is such a good heat conductor. In other words, heating the aluminum should not have caused it to bend like this. More likely either some internal component has "expanded" from heat and thus bent the upper surface or the HDMI plug was forcefully moved bending the upper surface.

Good luck,
Switon

Hi Switon.

If a short was the problem there is much more heat needed to give such a bulge on the top and if this was the case I think the Laptop would be damaged beyond repair.

I think it fell of the desk and then it got a short inside the connector, there is just no way a normal short(as in time) short circuit would give this result.

If a short was the problem there is much more heat needed to give such a bulge on the top and if this was the case I think the Laptop would be damaged beyond repair.

I think it fell of the desk and then it got a short inside the connector, there is just no way a normal short(as in time) short circuit would give this result.

Hi justperry,

I agree that normal heat, such as rendering an iMovie for 20 minutes as the OP suggests, would never bend the upper surface of the laptop, especially since aluminum is such a good heat conductor and would disperse the heat faster than it could build up enough to cause the bend. So I agree that there most likely was some physical event that caused the upper surface to bend. My only question is whether the physical force came from physically moving the HDMI plug or if it came from some internal component "expanding" and bending the upper surface. The component's expansion most like would be caused by a short circuit. Short circuits do not necessarily have to be "short", in time that is...they can last for a longer interval. From personal experience, just a month ago, a short circuit in the dashboard of a vehicle caused a fire that burnt the entire dashboard and interior of the car and completely drained the car battery.

I would like to also have a photo of the HDMI cable's male plug end, just like the photo of the laptop's HDMI female plug. Is the "black" from the HDMI cable's plug, or is it from scorching? Does the cable's plug show the same type of damage as the laptop? I was especially curious about the small black smudge at the left-hand side below the HDMI plug that appears to be disconnected from the HDMI plug's hole and also appears to be associated with the joint between the laptop's upper case and its back panel. Is this damage from the "inside" leaking out, or damage on the "outside". Therefore I suggest that the laptop be opened in order to determine the extent of internal damage.